12 September, GEORGE TOWN – Houses built by the Penang state government may also see a drop in prices if a proposal by the state’s Town and Country Planning Committee is approved by the state executive council (exco), said the committee’s chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo.
He said that following the announcement by the Penang chapter of the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda), which announced six and 10 per cent discounts on house prices, he would be bringing the matter (of discounts) up to the state council for consideration very soon.
The discussion would also include the policy and direction of the housing projects under the state government, he added.
Jagdeep said that if indeed the Sales and Service Tax (SST) did not apply to construction materials such as cement and iron as was announced by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, then the price of houses must also be reduced.
He was speaking to reporters after visiting the construction site of housing projects undertaken by the state on Jalan S P Chelliah here, today.
Jagdeep also praised Rehda for lowering the prices of houses after the SST implementation which he described as happy news.
Yesterday, Penang Rehda chairman, Datuk Toh Chin Leong announced that the association would provide a discount of 10 per cent for houses worth RM300,000 and above and a six per cent discount on affordable homes priced below RM300,000. The discounts applied to both existing and new projects in the state.
The reduced house prices was because of the the SST implementation which started on Sept 1.
Jagdeep also announced that developer Zubicon Sdn Bhd which managed affordable housing and low-cost housing projects at Jalan S P Chelliah, would receive the Green Building Index Gold for affordable housing and the Green Building Index Certificate for its low-medium cost housing schemes.
He said the recognition was the first in Malaysia.
– BERNAMA